Migration and Development in Italy Common Home
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
M COMMON HOME MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN ITALY MIGRATION COMMON HOME Via Aurelia, 796 00165 Rome - Italy MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT [email protected] www.caritas.it IN ITALY This publication was produced in the framework of the MIND project, COMMON which has received financial support from the DEAR Programme of the European Union. The information contained in this publication does HOME not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the European Union. series Researched and written by Sebastiano Ceschi with the support of Paolo Beccegato, Laura Stopponi, Massimo Pallottino, Oliviero Forti, Giovanna Corbatto (Caritas Italiana) and Andrea Stocchiero (FOCSIV). Contributions and editing by Olga Kadysheva, Patrick Taran, and Piyasiri Wickramasekara (Global Migration Policy Associates - GMPA) and Davide Gnes and Shannon Pfohman (Caritas Europa). This publication is part of MIND (Migration. Interconnectedness. Development.); a 3-year project, financed by the European Commission (DG DEVCO). The aim is to raise public awareness on the relation between sustainable development and migration and the European Union’s role in development cooperation. Led by Caritas Austria, the partners of the MIND project are: Caritas Bavaria (Germany), Caritas International Belgium, Caritas Bulgaria, Caritas Czech Republic, Caritas Europa, Caritas Italy, Cordaid (Caritas Netherlands), Caritas Portugal, Caritas Slovakia, Caritas Slovenia and Caritas Sweden. For more information about MIND follow the campaign: This publication was proofread by Mauricio Ruiz and Richard Tuffs Graphic design by Vanden Broele Group with the support of Leticia Lozano (Caritas Europa) Layout by Francesco Camagna Cover illustration by Jean Bernard Boulnois Published by Caritas Italiana, via Aurelia 796, Rome, Italy, May 2019. This publication was produced in the framework of the MIND project, which has received financial support from the DEAR Programme of the European Union. The information contained in this publication does not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the European Union. Caritas reserves the right to not be held responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the information provided in this publication. Liability claims regarding damage caused by the use of any information provided, including any information which is incomplete or incorrect, will therefore be rejected. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD 5 6.2 Work integration policy 33 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6 6.3 Education policy 34 6.4 Policy related to citizenship, social - CHAPTER 1 - and political rights 34 THE COMMON HOME VISION AND VALUES ON MIGRATION, 6.5 Cooperation policy 35 DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS 8 a. Migration 9 - CHAPTER 7 - b. Development 9 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 37 c. Migration and development 10 7.1 Conclusions 37 7.1.1 Human mobility as an element - CHAPTER 2 - of transformation: INTRODUCTION: DICHOTOMIES AND CHALLENGES controversies and representations 37 ON MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN ITALY 12 7.1.2 Re-establishing the ground - CHAPTER 3 - for the common good 40 ITALY’S NATIONAL MIGRATORY CONTEXT 15 7.2 Recommendations 44 - CHAPTER 4 - - CHAPTER 8 - REALITY ON THE GROUND: HOW MIGRANTS CONTRIBUTE REFERENCES 48 TO DEVELOPMENT IN A COMPLEX AND PROBLEMATIC CONTEXT 19 4.1 Towards places of residence/destination/transit 19 4.1.1 The contribution of migrants to the economy 19 4.1.2 The contribution of migrants to welfare and social security 21 4.1.3 The contribution of migrants to society and culture 22 4.2 Towards places of origin 23 4.2.1 The contribution of migrants to the economy 23 4.2.2 The contribution of migrants to society and culture 25 - CHAPTER 5 - OBSTACLES THAT IMPEDE MIGRANTS’ FULL CONTRIBUTIONS TO DEVELOPMENT 27 5.1 Obstacles and barriers in Italy 27 5.2 Obstacles and barriers towards countries of origin 29 - CHAPTER 6 - CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES 32 6.1 Reception/integration policy 33 3 FOREWORD et us briefly pause to consider what is happening to our are heavily limiting the possibilities of migrants to integrate and “L common home” is the warning invitation addressed to us by work legally through the use of increasingly restrictive controls, Pope Francis in the first chapter of Laudato si. The environmental thereby creating a growing number of irregular migrants on the theme is the heart of this encyclical and it is the starting point for margins of society. The two policies, the first aiming to increase co- drawing attention to issues that are closely related to the dimension development strategies, and the second limiting immigration and of human mobility. On the other hand, the growing flow of integration, are contradictory. migrants on a global level is the result of poor management of environmental resources that are the basis of “expulsive processes” Today, more than ever, a work of reflection and advocacy is that force millions of people to abandon their lands. “It is tragic the needed to provide all stakeholders with the elements to rethink increase in migrants fleeing poverty exacerbated by environmental the phenomenon of mobility in concrete and proactive terms; to degradation, who are not recognized as refugees in international mitigate the climate of mistrust, to propose solutions that involve conventions and carry the weight of their abandoned life without migrants in the social, political and cultural life of the destination any regulatory protection.” country, and to highlight, finally, the necessary role that migrants play in the economy and culture of the countries of origin as well Therefore the issue of migration, linked to development, or rather as those of transit and destination. to non-development, is crucial in current social, political and economic dynamics, both nationally and internationally. What Despite the economic impact of migrations in the host countries we are witnessing must question us because it challenges our being the subject of numerous studies, which often underline their future. To imagine a society without migrants means to imagine positive outcomes, poorly informed public opinion feeds a climate a world that does not exist. Laudato si reminds us that the lack of of tension and widespread antagonism towards migrants to the reactions to what is happening is a sign of the loss of that sense of point that they are seen exclusively as a burden on the economy of responsibility (...) on which every civil society is based. the countries that receive them. To combat the indifference that pervades transversally modern The real challenge at European level is therefore to implement societies, it is necessary to react, stimulating politics and institutions migration and development policies capable of maximizing the to face these phenomena with seriousness and foresight. It is therefore positive effects that these can have in the countries of arrival and in no coincidence that this Report, Common Home, is presented at the the states of origin of the migration. Human mobility today represents next European elections, which are seen as an important test for the a great opportunity for the development not only of the EU but also of maintenance of our common home. The project of a space for the well- the poorest countries where migrants come from. Such an opportunity being and freedom of citizens now seems to waver under the blows of cannot be seized by building barriers around Europe, but only through sovereign tensions that are widely recorded in various countries of the awareness of the possible benefit brought by immigrants and the old continent. The Report, promoted by the European project MIND, application of policies based on the migration / development binomial. is an opportunity to reflect on how the theme of migrants and, more generally, that of development, are helping to define a new Europe. This is why Caritas supports an integral human development that places the well-being of individuals in various dimensions, Numerous international and supranational organizations, including economic, social, political, cultural, ecological and including the European Union, recognize the importance of spiritual, at the centre of the development processes, placing the making migrant participants active through co-development migrant himself at the centre of the debate. Development is not strategies, with a role in the development of communities in reduced to simple economic growth. To be authentic development, the countries of origin and host countries. At the same time, the it must be integral, which means aimed at promoting every migration policies of the member countries of the European Union individual and the person as a whole. 5 on sustaining our pension system. Despite data and statistics pointing to the opposite, migrants are often perceived as free riders and a burden on the public purse. All caveats notwithstanding, the economic contribution of migrants through remittances represents an important development EXECUTIVE SUMMARY opportunity for countries of origin as well. However, migrants are not just “workers”. They are also carriers of social and cultural vitality. The growing size of the migrant population and the countless nationalities present on our national territory are transforming Italy into a multi- ethnic society. Recognising this process means being prepared to manage the change and deal with the inevitable tensions, his research aims to contribute to an understanding of the ageing Italian population, often met by migrants, can have in particular by investing in sound integration policies. Those the debate